Today we headed out on the Chain of Craters Rd. to look at the many pit craters that dot the Kilauea East Rift Zone. Along the way we stopped at a 1973 pahoehoe flow. Leaving our cars behind, we set off across the flow towards part of the Koa'e fault scarp. As we crossed the flow we were surprised to find great examples of lava trees standing above the rest of the lava.
Exploring the '73 flow
This is a burnt tree. You can tell it's burnt by the way it is.
Ian delivers the gospel according to Pele from atop a lava tree, while Gordon is swallowed by a hungry lava tree.
Across the street, John discovered a precarious way down to view another crater. This crater had a number of spatter cones that resembled the "dribble castles" that many of us had made as kids.
Calculating the depth using the rock-toss method and contemplating hang-gliding down
Checkin' out the splatter cone
New age art
Johanna almost falls in the crevasse
We continued down Chain of Craters Rd. stopping occasionally to enjoy beautiful vistas of fault scarps and the ocean.
A landscape shot
The end of the road has been overrun by recent lava flows, so we walked the last half mile stretch to where the pavement ended and lava began. We were able to take a few pictures before a torrential downpour hit, sending us running for the cars.
Watch out Rod, volcano poop!
Reckless driving near the lava flow
Back at the Breakfast Lanai, we enjoyed a hearty meal of burritos as we planned our trip for the next day.
Pretty neat.
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